ON THE ANTHRACITB COAL AND COAL-FIELD OF SODTII WALES. 221 



SO beautiful in appearance, so pure and powerful in combustion, and so 

 cleanly in its nature. The deposit may be said to commence on the east, 

 at the higher points of the Neath valley. At Kidwelly, on the west, it 

 is submerged under the waters of Carmarthen Bay, again to reappear at 

 Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire, and finally to be lost in St. Bride's Bay. 

 Its limitation to the north rise renders the width of the deposit extremely 

 narrow, the more so as stone coal jealously refuses to mingle with its less 

 carboniferous kindred, and a barrier of intermediate quality intervenes as 

 a rule between it and the bituminous seams of the south rise ; but to the 

 north the mountain limestone and its associated strata alone check the 

 operations of the stone coal worker. The gradual transition in their 

 quality, which the same scenes present, renders a definition of the anthra- 

 cite boundaries extremely diflicult. Speaking roughly, I estimate the 

 length of the deposit, exclusive of Pembrokeshire, at DO miles, with an 

 average breadth of 6 miles. Upon this supposition we should have an 

 area of 180 square miles or 115,200 acres. In addition to this the por- 

 tion beneath the sea in Carmarthen Bay is 15 miles in length by 6 in 

 breadth ; and the Pembrokeshire coal-field extends for 20 miles, with an 

 avei-age width of 5 miles. I have not considered it necessary within 

 the limits of this paper to enter into any minute calculation regarding 

 the quantity of workable coal now existing in the leading portion of the 

 deposit. I allude to that lying eastwards of Carmarthen Bay ; but I 

 believe we shall be within the mark in estimating an average thickness to 

 exist of 35 feet of workable coal, affording a yield of some 35,000 tons to 

 the acre. An allowance must, of course, be made for the workings that have 

 already occurred; but they can have made but an insignificant inroad 

 into the enormous mass of magnificent fuel which here lies for the benefit 

 of mankind and the exercise of science and art, in the provision of the 

 best means for its utilisation. The coal-field may be divided thus : — 



1st. The Pembrokeshire district. 



2nd. The Gwendraeth Valley district. 



3rd. From thence eastwards to the Vale of Neath in Glamor- 

 ganshire. 

 I have already stated the area of the first, which, according to the 

 report made to the Royal Coal Commission, contains over two hundred 

 and fifteen millions of tons of workable coal, all anthracite. The ground 

 is here much disturbed, and the seams, as a rule, thin ; but the quality 

 of the coal, more especially the ' Kilgetty ' and 'Timber' veins, is pro- 

 bably the finest in the world. Mr. Thomas Foster Brown, in his interest- 

 ing paper upon the South Wales coal-field, gives a list of seven workable 

 seams, containing an aggregate thickness of 17 feet 9 inches, and lyino- 

 within a depth of 980 feet. ° 



The Gwendraeth Valley, in Carmarthenshire, is rich in both coal and 

 iron ore. At its upper end the quality is highly anthracitic, modified to 

 some extent as we approach the sea at Barry Port or Pembrey. There 

 are some twenty-two seams of coal, varying from one to nine feet in 

 thickness, that crop out in this valley, with a collective thickness of over 

 60 feet. I am quite unable, within the limits of this paper, to enter into 

 any detail of the mineral features of this and the adjoining district, 

 reaching, as before stated, to the Vale of Neath. I must confine myself 

 to simply pointing out the abundance of its resources. The seams of 

 coal are numerous, and range even up to 18 feet in thickness, all pro- 

 ducing anthracite, but, as usual, varying to some extent in quality. The 



